Absorbent articles, such as taped diapers or pant diapers, for example, may be manufactured by a process where discrete articles, such as a chassis of a taped diaper or a pant diaper comprising a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core, for example, are applied to one or more moving webs of components, such as webs of front and rear belt portions, for example. To achieve this, a transfer assembly may be provided that comprises one or more transfer members and a frame defining a rotation axis. The transfer member(s) may orbit about the rotation axis. Each of the transfer members may comprise a transfer surface that is configured to engage one or more of the discrete articles. The transfer members may pick up the discrete articles at a pick-up location and place the discrete articles at a drop-off location within the orbit. In certain instances, the transfer assembly may rotate the discrete articles about 90 degrees, or other suitable angles, between the pick-up location and the drop-off location about a second rotation axis that is perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular, to the rotation axis. Transfer assemblies that rotate and transfer discrete articles are known in the art as “turn and repitch” units because the units turn the discrete articles and repitch them (i.e., change the spacing or “pitch” between them) between the pick-up location and the drop-off location. The repitching capability of these units, however, is somewhat limited and frequent change-outs of the entire transfer assemblies, or portions thereof, typically must be done to transfer discrete articles having different sizes (e.g., different MD widths and/or different CD lengths). This is owing to the fact that the transfer members of typical transfer assemblies orbit about the rotation axis at a constant angular velocity, thereby reducing or eliminating any pitch variation at the drop-off location. Differently sized discrete articles may require different drop off pitches at the drop-off location.
What is needed are methods for transferring discrete articles that overcome the repitching limitations and frequent change-outs of related art discrete article transfer methods.